What If
by Ael L. Bolt
Summary: A collection of short stories from the strange and twisted brain of one Ael L. Bolt. Ael ponders the different ways certain scenes could be handled, either accompanying canon or exploring a different situational outcome entirely.
1. Disclaimer and general fic information

What If...  
By Ael L. Bolt  
  
Rating: G to PG-13  
Genre: General/Fantasy  
Keywords: Harry Potter, AU, deleted scenes  
Timeframe: Varies from story to story  
Possible Spoilers: SS/PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP (I'm getting my copy on June 21, I pre-ordered it, and I read really fast so be prepared :P), QTTA, FB&WtFT  
Summary: A collection of short stories from the strange and twisted brain of one Ael L. Bolt. Ael ponders the different ways certain scenes could be handled, either accompanying canon or exploring a different situational outcome entirely.  
  
Author's Notes: I don't want to write a ton of fics - I don't have the time nor inclination to do so - so I'm getting rid of my rabid plot bunnies here. If you want to expand on any of my ideas, please say so in your story's summary and/or email me. Oh yeah, and there's no romance in this story - I can't read it, I can't write it (or so I think - Damian says I'm improving ^_^), so I don't intend to.  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. 


	2. Plot Bunny 1: What IfHarry Really WAS th...

Plot Bunny #1: What If...Harry Really WAS the Heir of Slytherin?  
  
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)  
Scene that inspired ficlet: The Dueling Club and Malfoy's Serpensortia  
Category: AU approach  
Rating: PG-13 (lots of carnage, funfun)  
Mini-note: Parseltongue comments will be spelled out rather than plainly described as hissing. (For example, Harry's first statement to the conjured snake would be written as "Sssssiyha chasssss asche!" using the "ch" sound the same way as in Hebrew.)  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
"RICTUSEMPRA!"  
  
In hindsight, it was a rather ridiculous response to Malfoy trying to splatter his sad remains all over the stone floor. Nevertheless, Harry was pleased to see that his arch-nemesis was unbelievably ticklish, and the blond boy sank to his knees, laughing uproariously.  
  
Snape scowled, and yanked his student to his feet. The contact broke Harry's charm, and Malfoy looked completely embarassed - if the flaming red on his cheeks was any indication, that is. The Potions Master snapped something in Malfoy's ear, and the younger Slytherin immediately thrashed his wand about in an oddly complicated movement. "SERPENSORTIA!"  
  
A huge black cobra leaped from the end of Malfoy's wand and began slithering its way toward Harry, hissing at the nearby students as it went. Harry smirked at the snake, and thought it strangely amusing that Snape thought he needed protection from it. He was just about to inform Snape that he was in no need of assistance when that bumbling fool, Lockhart, intervened and cheerfully blew the snake sky-high. Unfortunately this only served to irritate the serpent, causing it to turn on the nearest student as a snack.  
  
Justin Finch-Fletchley gulped in fear as the reddish-yellow eyes turned towards him, and he didn't dare move for fear the snake would strike.  
  
Oh, bloody hell, Harry thought, scowling. I don't want to get rid of the damn Hufflepuffs yet - especially when the wrong snake's here. Seeing he had no choice, he strode forward.  
  
"Sssssiyha chasssss asche!" he hissed at the snake.  
  
Slowly, every face in the room turned to Harry. He ignored them, and stepped even closer to the enraged serpent. "Sssssiyha chasssss iyefff!"  
  
The snake looked up at Harry as the suddenly dark and threatening second- year towered over it. It hesitated at the look on his face, and then slithered up to lay its head on Harry's shoes. He smiled darkly, approvingly, and picked it up. With a muttered "Finite Incantatem," the conjured snake vanished into smoke.  
  
Without a snake to distract him, Harry felt all eyes on him. "What're you playing at?" Justin demanded, shocked and outraged at Harry's actions.  
  
Harry's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the Hufflepuff. "Would you've preferred being bitten?"  
  
"You've got a lot of nerve saying that after what you've obviously done," Justin shot back, glaring. It seemed the terror of being under the snake's power had faded.  
  
Harry's expression darkened even further, his scar standing out vividly on his forehead. He snapped his head up towards the ceiling and cried out, "Sssssahffiy hefesssssh!"  
  
There was an inhuman scream from the upper wall, and a huge green serpent exploded through the stone and immediately headed for the students. The huge, reptilian eyes swept the room, and students fell like dominoes.  
  
Ron and Hermione had seen the sense in turning away from the snake, and they stared at Harry, hurt. "How could you do this?" Hermione shouted. "I thought you were our friend!"  
  
Harry sneered back, "There's a reason the Sorting Hat tried to put me in Slytherin."  
  
"Why you sodding little snake!" Ron bellowed in anger, and made to attack Harry. He never made it.  
  
Ron's shout was cut off as the basilisk bit him in half, sending blood everywhere. Hermione screamed in horror, not seeing Harry's sudden move towards her. The sharp blade of Slytherin's Dagger seperated her head from her shoulders.  
  
Harry surveyed the room in approval. Not a single student was left standing; all were dead or fatally wounded. Lockhart and Snape were also dead, thanks to the venom of the basilisk.  
  
Harry Potter, Heir of Salazar Slytherin, stalked out of the room with the basilisk on his heels. Tonight will be a night to remember, he thought, smirking, and his laughter echoed off the walls of the corridor. 


	3. Plot Bunny 2: What IfTom Riddle's DiaryM...

Plot Bunny #2: What If...Tom Riddle's Diary-Memory Self Had a Different Motive?  
  
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)  
  
Scene that inspired ficlet: Tom Riddle shows Harry a memory in the diary  
  
Category: AU approach  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Mini-note: This fic incorporates several alternate devices. Tom Riddle plans something different, Ron and Hermione are in the room when Harry writes in the diary, and Harry DOESN'T talk out loud when writing.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"You mean it's totally BLANK?" Ron's voice held a note of disbelief.  
  
"Absolutely," Harry confirmed, flipping through the pages again just to double-check. "There's nothing written in here. Only text on the whole thing is his name, on the cover."  
  
"Why would anyone want to flush an empty diary down a toilet?" Hermione wondered, bewildered.  
  
"Maybe it was a prank," Ron suggested, shrugging.  
  
"A prank on a bathroom no one uses?"  
  
Harry tuned out the bickering and accidentally spilled his ink bottle across the diary. He was about ready to mop it up with a rag when the paper began to absorb the ink. His eyes widened as the black liquid sank into the parchment, vanishing without a trace. He hastily turned a few pages, expecting to find the bleedthrough, and found nothing at all.  
  
He stared at it for a moment as if it would bite him. He picked up his quill, dipped it in what was left of his ink, and scrawled 'My name is Harry Potter' on the open page. His words faded into the parchment, replaced by a new set of words in a fancier yet male hand. 'Hello, Harry Potter. My name is Tom Riddle.'  
  
"Ron, Hermione, look at this!" he blurted out, even as the words disappeared.  
  
The two immediately ceased their arguement and came to peer over his shoulder at the diary. "I don't see anything," Hermione said, sounding disappointed.  
  
"No, look at this," Harry interrupted, and wrote 'Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?' on the waterstained parchment. Ron and Hermione made identical gasps of astonishment as the ink vanished into the book, but were even more shellshocked when the word 'Yes' appeared where Harry's writing had been, in an unfamiliar script.  
  
"The diary must be enchanted!" Ron exclaimed. "Whoever wrote it gave the diary their personality and memories, so it can write back."  
  
"Quick, Harry, ask him what he knows!" Hermione urged him.  
  
Harry wrote down 'Can you tell me?' in somewhat big letters.  
  
'No' the diary replied, and Harry threw down his quill in frustration. "So much for that idea," he grumbled. "And I thought we were getting somewhere- "  
  
He stopped as new words appeared on the page. 'But I can show you.' Harry glanced back at Ron and Hermione, an uneasy look on his face. He looked back to the diary, which now displayed 'Let me take you back fifty years ago...'  
  
The diary itself suddenly exploded into motion, flipping pages by itself and stopping somewhere in the middle. '13th June' appeared in the corner, and Harry leaned forward to watch for any new text. His eyes widened as the crease between the pages began to glow a blinding light, spreading across the pages and up Harry's forearms. He stared into the light unblinkingly, eyes wide with sudden horror.  
  
"Harry, what's wrong?" Hermione demanded anxiously.  
  
Harry moved as if to leap away from the diary, and abruptly vanished into nothingness. The diary closed itself, and if an emotion could be applied to an inanimate object, it could be described as pleased with itself.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Harry found himself in a swirling room, black tendrils wrapping around him and binding his arms to his sides. He opened his mouth to yell, and an ebony tentacle slapped itself over his mouth, gagging him. He thrashed, but the strange living ropes continued to wrap around him. Remembering the Devil's Snare from first year, he stopped moving. He wasn't freed, but at least he wasn't being further immobilized.  
  
A strange cackling laugh came from the darkness, and a shadowy figure stepped out. It was a young man, perhaps sixteen years of age, wearing Hogwarts robes with the Slytherin color scheme. His dark hair, somewhat ruffled yet neat, served only to make his skin appear even more pale. Dark reddish eyes that bordered on black burned into Harry's green ones.  
  
"So," he said, "this is the famous Harry Potter." His voice took on a sneering tone at the last words, as he looked the thoroughly bound boy over. "You're not what I expected."  
  
Harry glared at him, hateful of his inability to speak back.  
  
"A long time have I waited for a suitable host," the man - whom Harry realized must be Tom Riddle - continued, as if he hadn't noticed Harry's ire. "Ginny Weasley was not quite suited for me, both in body and in magical energy. A weak, silly little girl. But you..." Tom reached over and lightly touched Harry's face. Harry flinched, feeling as if something slimy was crawling on his skin. At the same time, his scar began to ache. But Tom pressed even harder, his finger moving up to the lightning bolt scar that made the young Gryffindor so unique. "I can't think of anyone stronger to use for my purposes," Riddle decided. "A young boy like you must be strong in magical talent if you were able to defeat the greatest wizard in history when you were nothing but an infant."  
  
Harry wanted to retort with, "Lord Voldemort was just a bully who thought he held power!" but the black vine prevented him from getting anything intelligible out. Well, that in addition to the increasing pain in his scar.  
  
"And taking into the consideration that you are also a parselmouth, well..." Tom Riddle paused. "That just makes you even more suitable. Ginny couldn't pronouce parseltongue properly; she's not made for it. No woman is. But you...you already have a flawless grip on the language. Quite commendable for someone your age."  
  
He abruptly leaned back as if to look over Harry again. "Yes, yes, we are quite similar, you and I. Not only in appearance but in our histories. Both orphans, part-Muggle though we be, with extraordinary magical talent including the parselmouth gift. It's only too bad you aren't a Slytherin, though you certainly act somewhat like one."  
  
Harry tried to hide his flinch. If Riddle only knew how close he was...  
  
"But no matter," Riddle said, straightening. "We are compatible, and that's all that matters. You've had your last moments of control, Harry. Your body is mine now!" He spread his fingers, letting green lightning crackle and sizzle in his hands as he laughed wildly.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Ron and Hermione watched anxiously as the diary twitched occasionally. "D'you suppose that was meant to happen?" Ron asked.  
  
"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "He has been in there an awfully long time..."  
  
She trailed off as a blinding glow began to emanate from the closed pages of the book. It suddenly burst open, flipping pages and increasing the glow by the minute. A dark figure was flung from the pages, landing in Hary's abandoned chair. The glow faded, letting Ron and Hermione see the crumpled form clearly.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
Harry slowly raised his head, looking dazed and out of sorts. "...uh?"  
  
Ron helped his friend to an upright position while Hermione pelted him with questions. "Are you okay? What happened to you? What did you see? Did you find out where the Chamber of Secrets is? How-"  
  
"Jeez, 'Mione, give him a minute to adjust," Ron interrupted. "Harry, mate, you okay there?"  
  
Harry blinked a few times. "Yeah, I think so. That was really weird." He eyed the book as if it were a poisonous scorpion. "That thing's evil. Whoever tried to get rid of it was right to do so. It's not what it seems at all." He picked up the innocent-looking book and held it like a dead rat. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it into the fireplace. The flames quickly devoured the parchment, but made slower work of the leather cover.  
  
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, shocked. "We should've taken it to Dumbledore!"  
  
Harry regarded her somewhat oddly, then shrugged. "Oh well, too late now. Come on, we've got to talk to the Headmaster. I think I know who's opened the Chamber of Secrets."  
  
Ron and Hermione stared at him, but he ignored them and started towards the portrait hole. They scrambled after him as it was made clear that he wasn't going to wait up for them. Unseen to them, Harry's face was twisted into an uncharacteristic sneer at the thought of pinning the blame on the same person yet again.  
  
And in the burning pages of the diary, Harry James Potter screamed. 


	4. Plot Bunny 3: What IfHarry Had Died in t...

Plot Bunny #3: What If...Harry Had Died in the Chamber of Secrets?  
  
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)  
  
Scene that inspired ficlet: "Oh, Harry...if you die down there, you're welcome to share my toilet!" "Uhh...thanks, Myrtle."  
  
Category: AU approach  
  
Rating: PG  
  
Mini-note: Yes, I'm obsessed with CoS alternate scenes. So sue me. You'll get some blank notecards and an old sock.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
The memory of Tom Riddle screamed in agony, light spilling out of great holes in his body. Harry pulled out the basilisk fang again, closed the diary, and slammed it right through the cover. Riddle screamed once more before exploding into a million shards of bright white light.  
  
All at once the adrenaline left him, and the sudden loss of energy caused him to gasp in shock. He swayed on his knees, clutching at the burning hole in his right arm.  
  
Ginny abruptly sat up, breathing hard, eyes darting around the Chamber wildly. Her back was to Harry, but she must have heard his pain-filled gasps, for she turned around. "Harry! I swear, I didn't mean to, Riddle made me-" she blurted, and her eyes widened as she took in his dazed figure. "Harry, you're hurt!"  
  
Harry looked down at his arm with blurring vision. He covered the wound with his hand, and tried to summon enough energy to speak. "Don't worry...Ginny, you need to get yourself out." He stopped to take another ragged breath. "Follow the Chamber and you'll find Ron." Her face was beginning to waver in his sight, and everything was getting fuzzy.  
  
"I can't leave you!" Ginny cried, beginning to sound hysterical. "You're - you're the Boy Who Lived! I've got to take you with me, you need help!"  
  
But by now, Harry wasn't listening. "Go...find Ron...get out..." His strength gave out, and he sank to the ground, curled up in a fetal position. He shivered, then lay still.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Ron paced beside a mountain of rock. Earlier he had heard eerie voices, among which was Harry's and one he didn't recognize. Then there had been lots of reptilian screams, followed by oddly musical cawing from the scarlet-and-gold bird that had swooped past Ron's head a few minutes before, clutching something ragged in its talons. The snake voice had gone silent after one agonized scream from Harry, followed a few minutes later by another long, loud cry that belonged to the other speaker. Now all was silent, and it was all he could do to try and keep himself from imagining his sister and best friend, dead in some underground cavern.  
  
A melodic call signaled the return of the bird, and it swooped through the child-sized hole Ron had managed to make in the rockslide. It perched on a boulder and looked back over its shoulder expectantly.  
  
Ron could have died from relief when he saw Ginny climb through the gap. She was bruised and covered in slime, and there was some black stuff in her hair, but she looked completely unharmed. "Ginny!"  
  
The siblings embraced one another, with the younger sister sobbing on Ron's shoulder. "Hey, there, it's over," he assured her soothingly. "Where's Harry?" Ginny just cried harder, and Ron began to feel panic setting in. "Where is he, Ginny? Where's Harry?!"  
  
"Right here, Ron." The voice came from behind him, but almost as if from a great distance.  
  
Ron whirled around to see Harry, bloodied and also rather slimed-up, holding a silver sword in one hand and a huge fang in the other. Ron's first thought was that his friend looked very pale, but his second thought came as he realized that not even Harry's clothes held color any longer, and the boy was hovering a few inches above the ground.  
  
Ron's jaw dropped in shock and horror. What he was seeing was the ghost of Harry Potter.  
  
"Or, if you're looking for my body, it should be lying somewhere back there in a puddle of ink and blood," the ghost continued, pointing towards the hole in the rockslide. "Not a pretty sight. What a way to go."  
  
He drifted closer, coming to a stop next to Fawkes. "Phoenixes can carry heavy burdens," he said. "Fawkes can fly you back up into the castle; just grab hold of his tail feathers." His gray eyes, once sparkling emerald orbs, turned to regard the ceiling. "I'll meet up with you later; right now I've got some unfinished business to take care of." And with that, he glided into the rock and disappeared.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Professor Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office, waiting for Harry Potter and Ron Weasley to return with young Ginny. Oh, he knew that they had found the Chamber of Secrets, and he knew that Harry would undoubtably be able to open it, slay the basilisk, and return the Weasleys' youngest child intact.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore?"  
  
Dumbledore turned to regard the voice, feeling somewhat surprised that anyone had been able to sneak up on him. He quickly saw why this was so. "Ah, young Harry...such a tragic loss this is."  
  
Harry's ghost blinked in confusion. "Er...actually, sir, I was going to tell you that Ron, Ginny, and Lockhart should be here with Fawkes any minute."  
  
"I was referring to you, Harry, not Miss Weasley."  
  
"...oh." Harry frowned and pulled out a familiar silver sword. "While I'm here, I might as well ask you this." He held up the ancient weapon. "I know the real sword is back with my body, but its image is bonded to me since I was holding it when I died. I wondered if perhaps you can explain to me what exactly this means...?"  
  
~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Ron ended up breaking the news to Hermione shortly after she was Restored. She had demanded to see Harry's spectre immediately, and much confusion ensued in which she tried to hug him and, when that failed, to slap him.  
  
Harry's ghost hovered in a sitting position a few inches above the level of Hermione's bed in the hospital wing. "Look 'Mione, I know what I did was stupid, but there wasn't really any other choice. Unfortunately-"  
  
"Oh, Harryyyy!" Harry winced as Myrtle appeared through the wall. "There you are! I've been looking all over for you since I heard you'd died too. Come on, I have to show you all around the plumbing!"  
  
Harry's eyes widened. "Er...something has just come up, I think I'll have to take a rain check on that one." He zoomed out through the ceiling, Myrtle close behind.  
  
"But you PROMISED! HARRYYYYYY!" 


	5. Plot Bunny 4: What IfFawkes Was an Anima...

Plot Bunny #4: What If...Fawkes Was an Animagus From the Future?  
  
Taken from: The Chamber of Secrets (movie)  
  
Scene that inspired ficlet: Fawkes heals the basilisk bite on Harry's arm  
  
Category: alternate POV  
  
Rating: G  
  
Mini-note: Don't ask where in the name of Liquid Cheese this came from. I honestly don't know.  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Well, there's my cue. Loyalty to Dumbledore, ten o'clock! Man your stations! Batten the hatches! Hit the deck! I'll get the margaritas, you get the steak!  
  
Yup, there's the old Sorting Hat. How're ya doin', buddy? Yeah, me too. Hey, I got a slight problem that I need you to help me with. See if you can't find Godric's sword for me, wouldja? That a good boy. I'll just take you downstairs.  
  
Ah, just as I remember it. Big gaping hole in the floor of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Lots of slime and grit. Rat bones and a giant snake skin. Evil snakey statues.  
  
I really must chat with dear old Tom about his decorating skills. This is dreadful decor.  
  
Ah, and there's the Big Baddie himself. Oh yeah, and the short guy. Heads up, raven-head! And as for you, Tom...damn, missed him. Oh well, time to let Shorty here do his thing.  
  
Gah, how'd I forget about the basilisk? Back, back, you beastly thing! I'll...I'll peck your eyes out! Oh, you don't think I'd dare? Watch me!  
  
Oh, ick, popping eyeballs with a beak is nasty. I'm never doing that again if I can help it.  
  
Ah, very good idea, Midget. Running away is a good thing. Especially when there's a sixty-foot snake trying to disembowel you, blind though it may be. Now hurry up and get back to the Sorting Hat.  
  
Good, good, just grab Goddy's pigsticker...atta boy! Stab that slimy worm! Die, die, you filthy beastie! Mwahahahaaa!  
  
Tom, you jerk, leave 'im alone. You think a poisoned boy is pathetic? Look at you! You're a freakin' BOOK. Not a very bright one, either.  
  
Hahaha, you deserved that, Tommy-boy! Now get your skinny ghosty bum outta here!  
  
Oh, I'm sorry, you little green-eyed monster. Did you want your boo-boo fixed? Sigh, you really make me cry too much. Now I feel like a girl.  
  
Oh, fine. Here. That wasn't so bad, now was it? You get the girl AND the sword AND get to live. Which is a good thing, since if you died I wouldn't be here anyway.  
  
Whaddya mean, I've gotta carry you? Shoot, forgot that part too. All right, fine, grab my tail. But if I lose any feathers, I'm taking it out of your paycheck.  
  
There, you and flame-brains and the squib can just go to Dumbledore's office. Ack, wait, let go of my leg! I don't WANT to go along with you, you long-nosed weirdo!  
  
Grrr. If I wasn't a vegetarian I'd eat your fingers for this.  
  
Heya there, whitebeard. Glad to see you again. Can you get this kid to let go of me? Thanks, I appreciate it. He squeezes too hard.  
  
Blah blah blah, choices make us who we are, Tom Riddle is evil and you're not you midget. Yep, heard this all before. Now get outta here. Good boy.  
  
Thank Merlin! I thought they'd never go. It feels so good to be human again, you wouldn't believe it.  
  
Yeah, yeah, I know, I should be more grateful since I'm back here in the past saving my own arse. But I'm a thousand years old and I don't feel like coming to my own rescue all the time. Refresh my memory. When's the next time I meet myself?  
  
Ah yes, the Third Task. Yay, joy. Are you SURE I can't help out dear old Cedric? Damn you. I don't care if it screws over the timeline.  
  
All right, all right, I get the picture! We're going with Plan A: let myself act like an idiot and watch that Hufflie die right in front of me. Fun fun.  
  
Uh-oh, someone's coming already? Grrr, it'll never stop! Phoenix, human, phoenix, human...one must wonder why I haven't gone schizophrenic yet.  
  
Yes, I still know my name. Some call me Fawkes. Others know me as Potter. Harry Potter. 


End file.
